Caramel Frappuccino?
by psychoticphoenix
Summary: What if you lose your memories and the only one who can help you remember is the one you want to forget?
1. Chapter 1: Who Are You?

**Caramel Frappuccino? **

**Summary: **What if you lose your memories and the only one who can help you is the one you don't want to remember?**  
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**Disclaimer: **The Queen owns everything. Sadly. However, we rejoice for she has shared it with us.

**Chapter 1:** Who Are You?

A bushy-haired brunette forced her eyes to open ever so slightly. _Blinding light. _She groaned. Her head felt like it was in a vice. _Voices._

"Is she awake?"

"Hermione? Are you alright dear?"

She tried to open her mouth but no sound came out. She could faintly see the blur of red-heads around her. _Footsteps. _

"I think she's awake, Healer Carter."

"Miss Granger? Miss Granger, can you hear us?"

"Wh-…" she croaked out.

"What'd she say?"

"Who… who are you?"

_Silence. _She struggled to get up, to see clearly who the unfamiliar faces were.

"No, Hermione, don't strain yourself. Lie down dearie."

"When will her parents get here?" another voice piped up, worried.

"We sent Harry for them last night. They'll be here soon."

"Why did she say that?"

"She's just recovering, right, Healer Carter?"

"Yes, she is. However, we still need to make sure she didn't suffer any serious damages. Our initial tests showed nothing, but some complications might come up…"

The girl fell back on the pillow, exhausted. _Darkness. _

She fell in and out of consciousness the following hours. She was vaguely aware of two new people in her presence. The others earlier, the gingers, were not there anymore. A man and a woman.

"Oh, Hermione. My daughter." She heard the woman sob.

"She'll be alright. She's a fighter, remember?"

Hermione? Who's Hermione? She kept on hearing the name from everybody who entered her room.

"Her-mi-o-nee." She muttered.

The figure by her bed immediately rushed to her side. "Hermione, dear, you're awake! Are you alright? Sweetheart?"

"Who's Her-mi-o-nee?" She feebly asked. She looked at the two people beside her with glazed eyes. "Who are you?"

The woman stepped back and started to sob. The man took her in his arms and comforted her, tears streaming from his own eyes.

The girl sat up, staring at them. "I'm…" they looked at her, waiting with bated breaths and tear-filled eyes. "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

The woman smiled gently, tears still pooling in her eyes. She caressed the girl's face. "No, dear." She nodded to her companion, who went to fetch someone. A moment later he was back with another man.

"Miss Granger I am Healer Carter." He said, noting the girl's puzzled expression when he called her 'Miss Granger' and 'Healer'.

"I… I don't understand. Who's Miss Granger?" the girl asked, genuine confusion on her face.

"Why, you are."

"What? But I'm not… I'm… Who am I…?" She trailed of weakly, eyes widening at the realization that she doesn't know even her name. "I don't understand. What happened?"

The Healer furrowed his eyebrows for a moment then nodded, facing the other two people in the room. "I believe she's suffering a loss of memory. It may be temporary, or permanent. We don't know just yet. We'll run a couple of tests…"

"I want my mother."

The woman turned to her. "I _am_ your mother, dear." She said, walking towards her once more.

The girl recoiled from the woman's comforting touch. "But I don't know you. I don't know any of you! I don't even know myself!"

Then she went wild. Her eyes were livid. She screamed and muttered unintelligible words. Her hands flew around, clawing anything she laid her hands on. Her legs kicked any material in their way.

"Hermione. Hermione, please calm down!"

"NOOOOO!"

"Stupefy!"

_Darkness. _

_Silver. _Silver?

She sighed in her sleep.

_Calmness. _

**Author's Note: **I couldn't get back to sleep since this idea of a story came into my mind. It was definitely much solid in my thoughts than this chapter was, because it started in the somewhat better part of the story. LOL. It will come soon though, I tell you that. Review please! Thathank you!


	2. Chapter 2: Who Am I?

**Caramel Frappuccino?**

**Author's Note: **Here's the next chapter and this is a longer chapter, for readers out there. I humbly ask for your reviews, mates. Pretty please?

**Disclaimer: **The Queen owns everything. Sadly. However, we rejoice for she has shared it with us.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2:<strong> Who Am I?

That was a few months ago. Hermione Granger went home with her parents having regained some basic memories regarding her life. However, she knows that there's still a big part of it that's missing. Her parents simply say, _"You'll remember, Hermione. You remembered us, we're sure you will keep on improving."_ She wants to believe them, but somehow she feels incomplete now more than ever. Also, she doesn't remember some bits of her own personal life.

Once when she went shopping with her mother, she spent almost an hour wondering what her favorite color was until her mother noticed her dilemma and pointed out that her favorite color is actually red. She felt depressed about it for days after the incident.

"When I woke up in the hospital all I could ask was 'who are you?'. Now I ask myself, 'who am I?'. It's terrible, I don't even know myself." Hermione muttered, getting out of bed.

"'Mione, we're heading to the clinic. Are you sure you'll be alright?" Her father said, peeking at her door.

"Yes, dad. Don't worry about me like I'm an 8 year old."

"Hermione, we're only worried because you're still recovering. You know if we weren't worried we wouldn't be acting this way."

"Yeah, well, whatever happened to 'You're a strong young woman, Hermione. You can get over this.'?"

Her father sighed. "I'm sorry, Hermione. Your mom and I just care about you. We wouldn't want you getting hurt again."

Hermione chose not to answer that. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, thoughts rushing through her mind. "Dad?"

"Yes, 'Mione?"

"Can I go out today?"

"By yourself? I…"

"I need to do this, dad. I can do it. I'll keep myself safe, I promise. Please? I'll just be going over to the café by the corner. No farther."

Mr. Granger nodded. "Okay. I'll go tell your mother. She won't let you go so easily, but I'll handle her. Here's your money. I'll hold on to your promise that you will keep yourself safe, okay?"

"Okay daddy. Thank you so much."

Her father came over and gave her a kiss on her forehead and Hermione hugged him in return. "Let's go talk to your mother."

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><p>It took much persuasion, but Hermione finally convinced her mother to let her go to the café. Frowning, she looked at the menu. As usual in such situations since "the accident", she had no idea what she was supposed to favor. Hermione didn't look up from her menu even when the door's bells jangled to announce people coming and going.<p>

"Miss, do you have your order yet?" A helpful waitress wandered over to her table.

"No, not yet. I'm sorry. I'm kind of having a bit of a hard time deciding."

"It's alright, miss. Just call me when you have an order." The waitress smiled and walked back over to the counter.

_Jingle of bells by the café door._

Hermione was seated just a table away from the door, so she wasn't all surprised when the person she supposed to be to newcomer passed by her table. What puzzled her, however, was when the figure turned abruptly as it walked by her table and left. Only then did Hermione put down her menu to look at how the person looked like, curious with the sudden leave.

_Flaxen hair? _Hermione shrugged it off and was about to give up in giving an order before she noticed a slip of paper across her on her table. Hermione frowned. She was certain it wasn't there earlier.

'_Caramel Frappuccino' _It read in an elegant script.

Hermione's heart thumped in her chest. "Caramel Frappuccino?" She whispered in disbelief. "But… I guess it wouldn't hurt to try." Hermione told herself as she waved the waitress over. "I'd like a caramel frappuccino, please."

"Excellent choice, miss. Anything else you'd like to add?"

Hermione thought about a slice of cake but just the idea of how much sugar it contains and how her parents would react when they find out she's eaten some put it off her mind. "No." she smiled. "Dentist's kid, I'm really not so used to eating sweets." She explained sheepishly.

The waitress smiled sympathetically. "I understand. I'll be right back with your order in a few minutes."

While she waited for the waitress to come back, Hermione studied the paper closely. It was handwritten. But she had second thoughts on that because it looked so perfect. What human being could have such handwriting? And such fine letters couldn't possibly be written with a pen. Or could it? Other than that, and the fact that it appeared out of nowhere, Hermione found nothing else out of the ordinary with it. She sighed. "Great, another puzzle unsolved." She muttered, slipping the paper in her handbag.

Within a few moments, the waitress came by with the subject of Hermione's thoughts. Well, not exactly the caramel frappuccino itself, of course. "Thanks." She gave a relieved smile to the waitress who smiled politely in return.

As Hermione took a sip from her glass, the sweet blend of caramel and cream with a light touch of coffee burst in her mouth and she looked at it with eyes full of wonder. She felt as if she had been reunited with something she hasn't experienced in a long time. And maybe she was right. Maybe she's been to this café before and maybe, just maybe, her favorite drink here was a caramel frappuccino. If that was the case, then the mystery of the slip of paper inside her bag only grew. It told her of a fragment of her past. The important question is, who?

Her thoughts were interrupted when once again the bells rang to signal that people have either arrived or left.

_The stranger? _

Two boys bounded over to where Hermione was seated. Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. It was explained to her that these two were supposedly her friends. Hermione believed it, but she couldn't help but notice that whenever they were with her, Harry seemed to always be carefully watching what he says around her and also covers up strange things Ron blabber about.

Harry had this lightning shaped scar on his forehead which he explained was from the car accident that killed his parents when he was a kid. Hermione can't tell why, but she thought that story was bogus. Not that she's ever told Harry though. He and Ron were just about the only close friends Hermione was aware she had. She didn't want to lose them as well.

"Hey, you two. What are you doing here?" Hermione greeted them.

"I'm sure you don't really want us here, Hermione, but your mom was worried sick about you being alone so she sent us here. Don't be mad at her though." Harry explained.

She nodded. "No, I understand and I guess it's alright. I think I definitely need some people to keep me from floating in my own mind searching for answers to my bloody questions."

Harry and Ron sat down across her. The waitress from earlier walked over again. "I'll have a macchiato please." Harry said, looking at Ron expectantly for his order.

"What he said." Ron said, looking a bit lost. When the waitress had left he looked at his two companions and asked, "Blimey, what the 'ell is that? Some kind of fairy tale creature?" he managed to make Hermione laugh, but he got elbowed by Harry behind the table. "Say, what's that you're having Hermione?" he asked, trying to shift the topic.

Hermione's eyes wandered over to her drink. "A caramel frappuccino." She replied, remembering the earlier incident and wondering whether she should tell the two boys seated across her about it. She decided against it and simply drummed her fingers on the table.

"How are you?" Harry asked, the mood suddenly different.

Hermione shrugged. "I'm fine. Though no new concrete memories, if that's what you're asking."

Ron reached over the table and held her hand with his. "Well, no matter what happens, we'll face it together, okay?"

Hermione smiled and felt herself tearing up when Harry's hand joined theirs on top of the table. She nodded. "Thanks, you two." They grinned.

* * *

><p>Later that day after Harry and Ron have escorted Hermione back home, Ron noticed his best friend looking troubled. "Anything wrong. mate?"<p>

"Ron, do you remember Hermione ever telling us she hated frappuccino? That any caffeinated drink would do. A cappuccino or even a frappe. But a frappuccino, never? " Harry asked.

Ron looked bewildered for a moment before recognition dawned on his face. "Oh. You know I'm not familiar with those muggle concoctions you drink. But now that you mentioned it, I think I do remember her saying that she'd rather drink firewhiskey and get drunk than drink that. I thought she was exaggerating her hatred for that muggle drink at that time… But of course we couldn't tell her that bit about firewhiskey right now. Her parents said we should let her remember things at her own rate and as of the moment, anything related to the Wizarding world would get her asking and finding out about it again at this time might be too much for her to handle. But why did you ask?"

"Because she was drinking it at that café earlier when we found her. And she didn't seem to be hating it at all."

"Aw, c'mon mate. Maybe it's nothing. It seems a little shallow for us to worry about, don't you thik?" Ron said, preparing himself to apparate back to The Burrow.

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, maybe you're right."


	3. Chapter 3: And You Are?

**Caramel Frappuccino? **

**Author's Note: **Here's the next chapter of CF. Sorry it took kind of long, school's back already *sheepish smile*. I humbly ask for your reviews, mates. Pretty please? Enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer: **The Queen owns everything. Sadly. However, we rejoice for she has shared it with us.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: And You Are? <strong>

Hermione woke up in alarm to the sounds of explosions and shots being fired. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and winced as she realized she had fallen asleep with the television still on. The gunshots that woke her up were coming from the show that was currently on. Muttering to herself, she fumbled around her bed to find the remote control. Once she was able to turn it off, she looked at her bedside clock and saw that it was already 2 in the morning. Yawning, she fell back onto her pillow but sleep didn't seem to want to come to her anymore. She lay there for a few moments, trying all means to get back to sleep. She tried counting sheep, closing her eyes, tossed and turned, and even tried to sing herself to sleep (softly, of course, she didn't really want to wake the whole household with her untimely singing).

She groaned, and looked at the clock again. She had already spent 45 minutes trying to get back to sleep to no avail. She sighed and decided to get up and find something to do. Up until she gets sleepy again, at least. So Hermione got up and started rummaging through her cabinets and drawers, looking for more clues as to who she really is. She looked for anything, anythingthat might give her even just a hint. Throughout her search, the incident at the coffee shop resonated in her thoughts.

Hermione never thought a caffeinated drink would ever bother her thoughts, but then again, she doesn't remember anything she's thought of before "the accident". She doesn't remember _anything_, for that matter. Except maybe that her name is Hermione Granger, her parents are both dentists, she has a _vast_ number of friends namely Harry and Ron, she had frizzy hair she couldn't manage in the morning, her favorite color is red and she had a cat named Crookshanks who was apparently intelligent for a cat. And maybe, just maybe, her favorite caffeinated drink would be caramel frappuccino.

There were other things, which weren't really memories. More like things she's found out about herself and her family and friends in the processes of observing and now, digging through things. For one, she's supposedly wicked smart. Hermione found a bunch of medals, ribbons and certificates hung up on a wall in her room. "Now, if I was only smart enough to remember things." She mused, quite surprised at herself. However she noticed they reached about a certain point in her life only. If Hermione's calculations were correct she was only sent to the school called _Saint Beatrice's _up until she was about ten or eleven. No amount of searching could tell her where she attended school after that time. Looking around her now cluttered room, Hermione frowned and tried to figure out why there weren't any signs of her studying anywhere else. To think that it was supposedly years ago, so obviously she must have studied somewhere.

Hermione didn't want to think that her parents and even friends were keeping secrets from her. After all, why would you keep secrets from an amnesiac? Unless you didn't want them to remember something, which Hermione didn't think they intended. Or did they?

She continued to sift through her things, mostly awards and recognition certificates from various activities. It was already thirty minutes past 3. Feeling sleepy again, Hermione decided to shove the things back in their respective places. Still with questions unanswered, Hermione shook her head and decided to just sleep the idea off. Tomorrow, she'll go back to the coffee shop. It's about the only place where she seemed to be getting some answers.

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><p>"I'd like to have a…" Hermione's brow furrowed. She was debating against herself whether or not to get a caramel frappuccino. The same waitress from the previous day was at her table again, patient as ever. Then again, she wouldn't be very <em>wait<em>ress-y if she wasn't waiting, would she? "A caramel cappuccino please."

The waitress nodded brightly and wrote it down on her pad. "Perhaps today I could interest you with a pastry?" she asked, clearly remembering yesterday's incident.

Hermione smiled and politely refused. As the waitress walked off, she felt a pang of guilt. It wasn't because she refused to order anything more than a cup of coffee and Hermione had this nagging thought at the back of her head that it was her choice of beverage that caused it. But after all, she wasn't supposed to assume immediately that her regular order would be a caramel frappuccino because of her positive reaction to it. It was the first she's tried, and she shouldn't decide that quickly.

Hermione pushed the guilty feeling away and let her eyes take in the surroundings instead. She was just about to finish complimenting the café's interior design in her mind when her order arrived. She took a sip and immediately regretted her decision. It was utterly bitter compared to the caramel frappuccino. It just tasted so wrong. Maybe there was a reason why the English preferred tea over coffee unlike the Americans.

Hermione swallowed and continued to force down the rest of the very bitter concoction. She knew that this wasn't her taste. And wondered how something disconcerting like this couldn't have stayed in her mind.

"Taste not to your liking?" a voice suddenly asked. Hermione jumped in her seat and looked up to meet a blonde with mercurial grey eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have approached you so suddenly." He said apologetically. He seemed young, but Hermione couldn't tell with the way he looked.

"I… no, it's fine. I was just surprised." Hermione smiled, motioning the stranger to sit down on the seat opposite hers. He did, and looked curiously at Hermione. "And yes, you're sort of accurate with what you said. The cappuccino is kind of strong for my taste. How did you know?"

He gave her a small smile which hinted amusement. "Your face said it all."

Hermione chuckled.

"What, you think it's funny?" he asked, still amused.

"I just never thought that I'd talk with a stranger about coffee before …" she trailed off. She cleared her throat. "Hermione." She offered her hand. Then she laughed again. "I totally have no idea why I'm doing this."

The stranger smiled at her. "You can call me Corvus."

Hermione raised her brow at that. "What a curious name. Crow… or raven, am I right?"

He nodded. "Our family's got a knack for naming the spawns after constellations." He explained, shrugging.

"Interesting."

"Well, I have an aunt named Delphinus Aquila Phoenix. I don't know how she managed that." He snorted.

Hermione choked back a laugh for politeness's sake. Corvus stared at her and stated, "You could laugh, you know. I know I do."

And she did. "Sorry, I don't know why I found that funny."

"Well, I don't as well." He smiled and offered his macchiato for a toast. Hermione obliged.

"So, what brings you here, Corvus?" Hermione asked, sipping her almost-cool still bitter drink.

"At this coffee shop?" he asked.

She nodded.

"It… holds a lot of memories." He offered, not really answering the question.

"Memories." Hermione mused, looking out of the window. "I could use some of those."

Corvus looked at her inquiringly. "Seems to me someone like you has enough of those. Good ones, even."

"I have retrograde amnesia." Hermione stated bluntly.

"You have absolutely no memories of whatever happened after whatever incident caused the amnesia." He replied promptly.

"Indeed. And how do you know that?"

He looked out of the window as well. "Someone I know has it as well."

"Oh. Brilliant, and here I thought I could scare you away with the idea." Hermione chuckled.

"Too bad for you then." Corvus said, smirking.

"Well, at least I won't have to worry about you acting all around me."

"Sounds to me you expect my friendship."

"I don't remember much of mine."

"I don't really have any. Cheers to that."

"No really. Someone as good-looking as you?" She teased, grinning.

"Oh c'mon M-. 'Mione. Uh, Hermione."

Hermione shook her head. "I won't mind if you find yourself an easier way to call me. I know my name's kind of a mouthful anyway."

"Ah, so you really expect we're going to be mates. You're already thinking there will be several occasions where I will have to call you, cheeky bint."

"Do you now regret that you approached me?" Hermione asked, smiling.

"Had I known you'd want to be mates with a bloke who talked with you over their morning coffee..." Corvus stated, obviously just saying it to irk Hermione.

"Put a sock in it." She playfully punched his arm.

"Aren't you friendly?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, well, I must be going now. Cheerio."

"Yes, well, don't look forward to seeing me again, _mate_."

Nevertheless, when Hermione Granger came to that coffee shop for the following days, Corvus was always there, giving her a smirk when she arrived, motioning over to the seat across his. And she always took it and they'd talk about things, anything that wasn't touchy with her amnesia, anything that doesn't touch the subject of their personal lives. Strangely, Hermione felt completely relaxed when she was with Corvus, like she was with family.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>What did you guys think? Was it too fast? Was it okay? Let me know, thanks!


	4. Chapter 4: Do I Know You?

**Caramel Frappuccino?**

**Author's Note: **Yaaaaay! The next chapter is here! LOL, sorry, I'm in hype mode. Appreciation to all those wonderful mates of mine out there, the STENCHERS. You guys inspire me. :D Finally in this chapter, glimpses of the past! The flashback scenes are going to be awry, so I'm already telling you that they're not exactly in chronological order, m'kay? Enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer: **The Queen owns everything. Sadly. However, we rejoice for she has shared it with us.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: Do I Know You?<strong>

It was more of like a ritual. Hermione didn't think much of it. It was more of like a new friendship. Establishing one seemed to be a necessity, since she wasn't exactly aware of the other ones she supposedly has. It was easy because Corvus understood her and her condition. They never discussed what their companionship meant. It wasn't of much importance anyway, just two solitary souls finding friendship with each other.

He never exactly elaborated on his private life, but when he did, Hermione noticed the same uptight carefulness she saw in Harry whenever Ron blurted out something strange. Hermione shrugged it off as an effect her condition has to people. She didn't have much to talk about for her part, since she was careful not to burden him with her speculations of her past. He said it was fine and he understood, but she felt guilty when she started spouting some random ideas of what her life must have been. And so most of the time they just sit in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company.

One day Hermione was laughing at a statement Corvus just made and her eyes wandered to the shop's door. She saw a young woman with ginger hair and she was staring right at them with a shocked expression.

"M-ione?" Corvus saw the expression on Hermione's face and turned to look at the direction she was looking at.

The ginger walked to their table in haste. "Hermione, thank Mer- maid man and Barnacle Boy I found you!"

"Huh?" came the brunette's puzzled expression.

"Sorry," the ginger laughed nervously. "Mu-st be an expression I got from the kids."

"I'm sorry but do I know you?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister." Hermione watched as Corvus became more and more uncomfortable under Ginny's stare. "What are you doing with him?" she asked in an innocent tone.

"Who, Corvus? We're friends." Hermione defended. She resisted the urge to tell Ginny that he was more familiar to her than she was. But judging by the ginger hair and freckles, she was undoubtedly Ron's sister.

Corvus stood then and excused himself. "I'll se you tomorrow." He muttered to Hermione who was baffled by his reaction to Ginny's arrival.

Ginny took his place with a mumbled, "We'll see about that." Which Hermione didn't hear as she was busy asking the now closing door what was wrong.

Hermione faced Ginny with disbelief etched on her face. Ginny sighed and motioned for her to calm down. "Look, I know this is a lot to take in, especially with… Corvus leaving abruptly like that. I'm sorry. Uhm. Let me start again with this, okay? Hermione Granger? I'm Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister. We're friends."

Hermione took in even breaths as she listened to Ginny. "Did Ron send you here?"

Ginny looked puzzled for a moment but she recovered. "Oh, no. It was Harry who asked me to go check on you."

"And how did you know I'd be here?"

Ginny shrugged. "I went and asked your parents. They say you've almost always been here since the first time."

"Oh."

"Listen, I'd love to stay and chat with you, but an emergency came up. I'm really sorry about this." Ginny grimaced at the lost expression on her friend's face. "I hope next time…" she was stopped in the middle of her statement as Hermione cut her off.

"No, Gin. It's fine."

* * *

><p>"She called me Gin."<p>

"That's hardly a sign of recovery."

Ginny shot her brother a look. "Ron, you don't cal a person by their nickname, which may I add you do not know yet, after you've just met them and were introduced by another name."

"Your name's Ginevra, of course she'd call you Gin."

Ginny huffed in annoyance. "I already told you, I told her my name was Ginny. But that's beside the point. He was there with her when I arrived."

Harry and Ron's heads shot up to look at her. "Who?" they asked simultaneously.

"_Him_."

"He's in a coma, isn't he?" Harry asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"No, Harry. The other him."

"But I thought we told him…" Ron trailed off.

"Exactly my point." Ginny exclaimed, waving her hands around in emphasis.

The three sat in uncomfortable silence.

* * *

><p>"<em>You sure they're going to be alright with you meeting me here?" the blonde asked the disheveled looking woman as the jingle of bells by the door announced her arrival. She turned to face him and smiled, patting her hair to smoothen it out again. He smirked, knowing the gesture wouldn't do much for her naturally stubborn, wild hair.<em>

"_It's not like I told them." She replied as she sat across him._

_A waiter approached the couple and before he could even ask what they were going to have, the woman looked at him and said, "2 Mocha Frappuccinos, please." The waiter nodded and left._

"_A secret romance?" he mock gasped, grey eyes twinkling with mirth. "How tragic. And you didn't ask what I wanted. How rude."_

_She rolled her eyes at him. "Put a sock in it. It's not like you know about muggle coffee." She laughed._

"_Maybe there's more to me than meets the eye." He shifted in his seat and leaned forward. "How would they find you if you suddenly go missing, hm, Granger?"_

_She gave him a smirk that equaled his own. "Why, do you plan to kidnap me, Malfoy?"_

_His reply was interrupted by the arrival of their order. "Who would've thought?" she mused._

_His eyebrow raised at her in a questioning look._

"_Ex-Death Eater and War Heroine in Muggle London, drinking their morning coffee together." She stated, motioning to the both of them._

"_You forgot the part where they're madly in love with each other and are trying to hide their romance from the wizarding world." He offered, snickering._

"_They are?" she exclaimed, earning a frown from him. She chuckled. "Such a flirt, Mr. Malfoy. I never pegged you as the type." When he didn't answer, she stood up and grabbed her coffee. "I'll see you at work." She said and left, the bells jangling to signal her departure._

_He twirled the straw in his frappuccino and sighed._

* * *

><p>"<em>Draco Malfoy?" Ginny squeaked. "You agreed to let him work with you?"<em>

_Hermione gave her best girl friend a look. "You're as bad as Ron."_

"_No, no. I'm not judging him or anything. It's just that I never thought you'd be civil with him, let alone be willing to work with him."_

"_That'd be Ron again, Gin. Besides, it's not like I can raise Voldemort from the confetti he became and ask him to 'please cooperate with me' as I he and I discuss the Dark Arts and the chances of his die-hard followers possibly still being a threat to us."_

_Ginny nodded in slow understanding. "Yes. Okay, I get it._

_A knock on Hermione's door startled the girls. It was Draco Malfoy. Ginny studied his appearance. He managed to gain some weight since they last saw him getting an awkward hug from the dark lord quite some years back. His face wasn't as sallow as the time of their family's hearing. In fact, he looked more like the Draco Malfoy they'd known at school before sixth year. He didn't have his signature smirk on though, which made his features soften a little. He looked… human._

"_You know where to reach me Hermione." Ginny said as she left to go to Harry's office. She gave Draco a curt nod goodbye upon her exit._

"_Yes, Mister Malfoy?" Hermione asked. "How may I help you?"_

"_Join me for coffee tomorrow morning."_

"What?"

* * *

><p>"<em>Say yes." Ginny urged.<em>

"_But I'm dating your brother, remember?"_

_Ginny rolled her eyes passionately. "It's not like he's asking you to go out or something. Besides, that's the 15__th__ time he asked you this week. And it's not even Wednesday yet! Whatever happened to giving him a chance?"_

_Hermione frowned. "I never realized giving a chance included morning coffee together."_

_Ginny snorted. "It's called socializing."_

"_Harry and Ron wouldn't…"_

"_Who said they'd know?"  
><em>

"_Wow, Gin, if you're all up for it, why don't _you _go with him?"_

"_Oh please 'Mione, I know he won't stop until you say yes. Besides, it will give you a chance to become easier workmates. And for the record, I'm dating Harry."_

_Hermione laughed and pointed a finger at her friend. "See, you used the dating excuse as well."_

* * *

><p>"<em>Why did you…" Hermione trailed off.<em>

_His grey eyes were sharp as he looked at her. "Why did I what?"_

_She shook her head. "No… no. It's nothing. Nevermind."_

"_Spit it out Granger."_

_She sighed. "Okay, why did you join them?"_

_Draco's hand unconsciously reached for the trace of the Dark Mark on his forearm. "At the time I believed it was an obligation."_

"_To Volde-" he winced. "Sorry, to _him_?"_

_He shook his head, "No, to my father."_

"_Do you regret it?"_

_He gave a dry chuckle. "Who doesn't?"_

_Hermione cleared her throat and decided that to remind him that that was exactly what they were working on, those who don't regret being followers of Voldemort and remain loyal to him even after all these years, was not the best thing to do at the moment. So she randomly picked up a piece of paper on her table and changed the topic._

* * *

><p>Hermione studied the piece of paper for the nth time since she found it on her table at the coffee shop. Perhaps it would trigger some memories? She laughed to herself and shook her head. Tough luck. She put it down and crawled to her bed, that morning's events playing in her head like a short film. She made a mental note to ask Ron and Harry about it and closed her eyes to get some sleep.<p>

_The graceful flick of a hand._

_A pen… no, a quill on paper._

_Ink drying on parchment._

Hermione shot up and opened her eyes, looking around her room. It seemed like she'd only been sleeping for a while, but her bedside clock told her otherwise. Then she remembered what woke her up in the first place. It had seemed so real, so real she could almost smell the parchment and she felt that if she had only reached her hand out, she would've touched the drying ink. She breathed heavily and clutched her sheets tightly. Had it been a memory? Or another crazy figment of her imagination? It felt real, but was it?

Was it a part of her old life gone back to her?

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>There you go. So, what did you think of this chapter guys? Anon reviews are now allowed! Tell me what you think. :D


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